In Modules 1-4 we’ve covered a lot of the approaches to Communication Studies and we’ve discussed why it’s important to study communication. We’ve also looked at the priority of messages within the field, and discussed several ways in which we understand and study messages. One of the key aspects of studying messages, that many of you have discussed in your blogs and your exams so far, is that not all messages that are transmitted or sent out by a producer are received or consumed in the way intended. Audiences, as we’ve learned, don’t always cooperate with, agree with, or even understand the motivation of the message’s sender.
In the last module we discussed how some of this is tied to the identities of the speaker or message sender and the identities in the audience. In this module we will focus on a more collective understanding of why messages do or don’t reach audiences in an intended fashion. In this module we look at the role of culture in communication.
Every individual is layered with multiple identities, and some of these identities reflect specific cultures. Each person is part of a multitude of cultures all at once—no one exists outside of cultures.
Consider an example of a student named Jacob. Jacob is a White-American, but this cultural label does not really describe who he is or explain his culture or cultural labels. He is a college student—therefore he is a part of college culture, and specifically the culture of his campus. Does this matter in terms of who he is or how he communicates? Absolutely. Jacob is influenced by the cultures to which he belongs—the attitudes, characteristics, and values of those cultures shape who he is and what he will communicate to others.
Jacob is not only a college student—he’s also a baseball fan and part of baseball fan culture. He is also a brother to his two younger sisters, and a son to his parents. This makes him a part of his family’s culture. Jacob works full-time as a waiter to pay for school—so he’s a part of the corporate culture of the restaurant, and when at work he has to behave in accordance with the customs and practices of that culture.
Jacob’s girlfriend, Cindy, is from a Chinese-American family. Like Jacob, this particular cultural label doesn’t really define her or who she is—but it is one of her many cultures and cultural identities. She doesn’t have to work her way through school, so Cindy is a full-time student who concentrates on her studies. This is important in her family culture: her parents practice that “stereotypically Asian” style of placing a lot of emphasis on academic success. But does this mean that she and Jacob aren’t really suited to be together—that their cultural differences will get in the way? A lot of people might assume exactly that, and predict that this couple will not survive.
However, what if Jacob’s parents also place a lot of value on their children getting an education, and they have always insisted that good grades are important. In this case, that potential “stereotypical Asian” barrier may not have any impact on the relationship of Cindy and Jacob. In fact, while cultural variation may predict communication challenges in a relationship, in reality there are so many cultural identities for every person that predicting the relationship between communication and culture is seldom completely reliable.
It’s important to understand that everyone is connected to others through a layering of cultural identities (Lustig, 2013), and we need to recognize how these different identities interact with each other as we communicate to other people. Communicating our cultural identities, and communicating to others and their cultural identities, is not a simple process.
Successful intercultural communication starts with cultural awareness. Relying on stereotypes to guide our communication practices means we aren’t really trying to understand the other person, and this is likely to lead to communication failure.
Defining Culture
The relationship between culture and communication is complex because each influences the other. Culture is composed of communication practices. At the same time culture informs and influences human communication behavior. Culture does not have one standard definition that is universally considered to be the best. For some, culture is a system of shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, as well as shared symbols and values (Goffman, 1959; Geertz, 1973; Hall, 1976; Hofstede, 1983). For others, culture is a set of ideologies that drives the construction of realties (Berger, 1972). In either definition, culture is understood as being learned through socialization and communication practice.
What we study as culture is dependent on the specifics of the definitions we apply. Some definitions of culture are aimed at particular aspects or parts of a greater culture. Other definitions assume that culture involves large populations or is tied to political definitions. For example, some conflate culture with civilization, meaning a particular society in a particular time and place and the artifacts and values held to that society's highest levels (Arnold, 1869; Leavis, 1933). Others describe culture as tastes, or artistic and elegant endeavors and products that are created within society (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1944). Still other definitions look at the knowledge and values or epistemologies associated with particular groups of people (Becker, 1980). Others look at attitudes and behaviors (Goffman, 1959; Hall, 1976; Bordieu, habitas; Gudykunst, Ting-Toomey). And some even describe culture as a way of life (Williams, 1958, 1961).
Ultimately, culture is a set of learned characteristics, including beliefs, values, behaviors, and products that inform, create, and reflect human practices. We participate in culture when we perform any of these characteristics. And we participate constantly, in family, local, community, and national identities; in cultures associated with political preferences or diversity factors; and in cultures associated with our favorite pastimes, career choices, and leisure goals.
We participate because we have learned to participate in culture—this is how culture reproduces itself and survives. The traits and characteristics, including the stereotypes, symbols, heroes, and narratives associated with cultures are identifiers or markers of culture when associated with individual people. These are also characteristics that members of a culture assume or choose to perform, or have assigned to them by others. This allows people to be recognized as part of a specific culture. Yet, we seldom perform only one set of characteristics, or only one culture. Most of us present values and symbols from more than one culture simultaneously, though communication.
Given the prominence of culture in our lives and our communication practices, the need to study how communication and culture interact is evident. Studies involving this process reflect three traditions of understanding culture: as a system of meaning, as a means of organizing society, and as the practices and products of a group of people. To better investigate how these views of culture have impacted the study of culture and communication, we’ll take a brief historical look at evolution of this field of study.
How is culture symbolic? Is it made up of symbols?
How challenging is it to identify symbols that are specific to individual cultures?
Why are different symbols evident in different cultures?
What is the best way to read symbols when they are interpreted differently in different cultural groups?
References
Adorno, T., & Horkheimer, M. (1946). The culture industry: Enlightenment as mass deception. In S. During, (Ed.). The cultural studies reader. New York: Routledge. Original work published 1944.
Arnold, M. (1869). Culture and anarchy: An essay in political and social criticism. London: Smith, Elder, and Co.
Becker, A. L. (1980). Text-building, epistemology, and aesthetics in Javanese shadow theatre. Dispositio, 5(13/14), 137-168.
Berger, J. (1972). Ways of seeing. London: Penguin Books, ltd.
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books.
Gudykunst, W.B. (Ed.). (1983). Intercultural communication theory: Current perspectives. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Hall, E.T. (1976). Beyond culture. New York: Doubleday.
Hall, E.T. (1959). The silent language. New York: Doubleday.
Hall, E.T. (1968). Proxemics. Current Anthropology, 9. 83-108.
Hofstede, G. (1983). National cultures in four dimensions: A research-based theory of cultural differences among nations. International Studies of Management & Organization, 13(1-2), 46-74.
Leavis, F.R. (1930). Mass civilization and minority culture. Cambridge, UK: Minority Press.
Lustig, M.W. (2013). Intercultural Competence Interpersonal Communication Across Cultures, 7th ed. New York: Pearson.
Ting-Toomey, S. (1985). Toward a theory of conflict and culture. In W. Gudykunst, L. Stewart, & S. Ting-Toomey (Eds.), Communication, culture, and organizational processes (pp. 71-86). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Williams, R. (1958). Culture and society. London: Chatto & Windus.
Williams, R. (1961). The long revolution. London: Chatto & Windus.
